Noelle
by au-chocolat
Summary: At first glance, she's an average European kid. At a second glance, she's still an average European kid - but with a touch of charm, sarcasm and a pair of sometimes-blue, sometimes-green eyes. She didn't faint learning about vampires at Cross Academy, she just raised an eyebrow. Here are some snippets of her life.
1. Mistake

"You're unbelievable," Noelle muttered. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, and stormed down the hallway to the safety of her room just seven doors away.

Zero blinked a few times before he registered what went through Noelle's mind seconds prior. Shit. She saw the plane tickets. He leapt up, causing his shirt and Noelle's cardigan on the bed to fall off, and ran out the door to chase Noelle. He knew he was too late when he caught the long brown hair whip behind a shutting door.

"Noelle, let me explain," Zero whispered hoarsely from the other side of the locked door. Zero called out a few times but knew kicking down the door was pretty damn immature for a 19 year old and he feared waking the entire floor with a loud knock. A few minutes and more pleading passed before Zero spun around to give his other route a shot - up Noelle's balcony. As he sped down the stairs and exited the building, he growled at himself giving allowing Noelle to lose trust in him so easily …

* * *

She was the girl who arrived three years ago, unannounced, as just a child of expats from France in Japan and sent to room in the main building as there was a shortage of rooms in the girl's dorm. '_Bonjour, monsie- desolee, je m'excuse. Kon'nichiwa sensei!_' She was the girl who spent the first months struggling to communicate with her classmates with her basic Japanese, then a month of shock after a secret-spilling friend named Yuuki explained vampires at Cross Academy, then through subsequent months in content as she made good friends on campus and shined in all her classes as a top student. She was the girl whose sing-song voice often trailed into the gardens as she did chores, reaching a peaceful Zero as he frequently rested under a maple tree; the same girl who gave up learning how to cook because she'd rather spend her days "productively": reading or jogging. She was the girl who hated birthdays almost as much as Zero, for the reason that her birthday landed on a holiday where she'd rather everyone surrounded by families and fireplaces and open presents instead of at her birthday dinner.

She was the young lady who rebutted Zero's insults and sarcastic remarks with wittier torts. '_You'll go as far as a three-toed sloth with that attitude of yours_', Noelle once snarled after Zero's sarcasm worked Yuuki to tears. She had called over her shoulder while escorting Yuuki to her room; '_… they travel at 0.15 miles per hour. Quite progressive._' She was the young lady who shared soft laughs with Zero past midnight in the living room when both their insomniac habits kept them awake. She was the young lady whose blood hinted of honey and coffee lacquer, Zero discovered after an accidental papercut led to a disastrous blood feast. She was the young lady who remained quiet the entire ordeal, never flinching a centimetre as Zero drained blood selfishly from her thumb, and only offering a curious tilt of the head when Zero sheepishly cleaned her hand after the feast. '_Does it make you feel better?_' She was the young lady with the pair of emerald-hazel eyes that pierced at Zero's embarrassed lavender ones curiously after the incident, and the same one who scribbled a "contract" after Zero made a slow nod in response to her question and after he had muttered "_thank you, Noelle_" and many, many "_I'm so sorry_" 's.

She was the young lady whose handwriting authored _I, Ms. Noelle Charlotte Granot, permit Mr. Zero Kiryuu Cross, to take the bodily fluid known as blood from my own body with my verbal consent. The Contract calls for the recipient to minimize apologies offered after each incident. This contract is made under handwritten seal to account for the lack of tangible consideration. Undersigned: N.C. G. Z.K.C. 12 August 2010_

Zero had laughed at first, then argued and furiously rejected signing it second, and reluctantly signed the contract third after lots of convincing that the contract was "a joke." '_If this ever lands in court, I advise you not to use duress or undue influence as your argument. I'll have defenses prepared for both._' Noelle was a professional, a nerd, a tease. And a breath of fresh air in a sea of annoying teenage girls who whined about not seeing the Night Class enough or about the lack of good food. She was the young lady who would rather spend time whining about the lack of good documentaries on BBC or the recent foot blister from jogging.

* * *

She was the woman whose body changed over the three years from a rather athletic, lanky frame to a soft and slender contour. Whose bushy hazel hair tamed with the help of John Frieda, or some similar crap, into shimmery golden brown waves. Whose green eyes outlined by thick lashes stood out against her exotically tan skin and sharp features. She was the woman who surprised Zero with a '_shut up_' when Zero was bidding a last apology and good night at her bedroom door after drinking blood. '_I'm not a martyr, just a friend helping a friend. I know you'd do the same,_" Noelle muttered without meeting Zero's eyes.

She was the woman whose peaceful breathing and rise and fall of the chest kept Zero awake as she drifted off into slumber on those nights they wanted to be in the same room; whose simple but beautiful symmetry of the face and body was chastely observed by Zero's eyes as she remained asleep. Whose cupid's bow and soft lips was first met by any man when a frustratingly bashful Zero slipped an '_I care about you, more than you would know_'.

Who asked Zero to never keep secrets from her because she did not handle secrets and deceit well. Who was the first ever to drowsily whisper the magical three words in Zero's ear in the middle of her sleep, who was completely oblivious to Zero's flustered behaviour the subsequent morning. '_What drugs are you tripping on, Zero? Why are you so jittery?_' she laughed. She was the beautiful, beautiful woman who held Zero's hands firmly and faced Zero as she carefully said the three words again but this time consciously, under the midnight sky as Zero presented her a high-tech telescope for stargazing as gift for no particular occasion. Noelle was the woman who said it with so much conviction that it almost stopped Zero from bending down to softly kiss her, fearful at the possibility it was a joke. Whose tugging at his silver hair and gentle strokes along his muscled body and they tangled themselves in the grass under the stars showed that it wasn't a joke. Whose kisses did not have to wait for his own to claim territory. Whose heavy breathing and groans were carefully absorbed by the vampire hunter as he explored her lips, neck, torso and legs. Who nodded solemnly when Zero forced every cell in his body away from hers, as he murmured huskily that '_this needs to wait._'

* * *

She was the woman who completed Zero and both of them knew.


	2. The First Time

The new girl had arrived.

Yuuki had already decorated the entire living room with pink balloons, streamers and a homemade cake that didn't look half as bad as her chocolate puck last year. The bubbly brunette was elated from the idea of having another girl - _from Europe! - _living in the same building as her, Zero and the Chairman. Yuuki was going back and forth in what Zero thought was mentally volatile behaviour. One minute, Yuuki would be squealing in unimaginable octaves, "_I'm sooooooooo EXCITED!" _to being curled up in a ball and biting on her fingernails, whimpering in nervousness. "What if Noelle doesn't like pink? What if this is all too much for her? Oh god, I overdid it, didn't I, Zero?"

Too keep a sanity, Zero spent as much time as possible outside in the five days leading up to Noelle's arrival.

* * *

His and Yuuki's adoptive father had nervously announced to his children about a new French girl coming to Cross Academy who would also be living in the main building as them. Chairman Kaien feared that his kids would be apprehensive about the idea, and he was 50% right; Zero hated the idea of another babble-headed teenage girl living in the same building. Yuuki, on the other hand, who never had a girly sleepover in her life due to her prefect duties, started crying tears of happiness in the office. Both the men didn't know what to do and they let Yuuki's emotions flow that afternoon one month ago.

Zero didn't know much other than the fact that she was French, had parents who found work in Japan and wanted to send their daughter to a boarding school. _Huh, some parents, sending their child away during the only time in her life she could see them every day. _Zero grimaced at the idea of Noelle discovering the true purpose of Cross Academy. The purebloods better be on their toes to erase Noelle's memory if she ever learned what vampires were.

* * *

He sulked around the building until about dinner time, when he was sure Yuuki had calmed down from Noelle's arrival. He had been out of the building since 8 in the morning, finding other activities to keep him productive on a weekend day, such as napping in the grass and learning multivariable calculus while relaxing in the stables.

Zero checked his thin watch. 6 o'clock precisely meant it was time to go back and make dinner with Yuuki, possibly with Noelle. _I hope this woman doesn't explode stuff on the stove like Yuuki._

* * *

A brunette with her hair in a high ponytail exited the building to crisp winter air and a path that definitely looked appropriate for a nice jog. _Wow, le Japon gets cold early in the year,_ Noelle grumbled to herself as she started with a quick pace. A catchy rhythm flowed from her ears to her legs and she soon found herself in a steady pace.

When she was stressed, tired, or overwhelmed with moving halfway across the world, Noelle found refuge in 2 activities: reading or running.

Noelle looked around at her surroundings - the gardens were beautiful. All the beauty was found in the delicacy and details, like the intricate edges of the benches along the path and the perfect sphere of fertile soil surrounding the small trees. There was definitely a different kind of refinement in this surrounding that Noelle could not find in France. There, beauty is boasted, not kept in the background.

Her eyes were still glued in amazement at a blooming rose bush beside a bench when she nearly knocked something over in her fast pace. She caught herself before meeting the dirt. Noelle spun around to meet the obstacle - a boy with silver hair, muttering possibly profanities in English under his breath as he straightened out his uniform disturbed from the collision.

"Zero?" Noelle inquired. "_C'est toi_?" She was warned by the chirpy Yuuki and chairman that a sulky silver-haired boy might be in the gardens. She wasn't prepared to get a glare from the lavender eyes_. I thought les japonais were very cordial - maybe these students are different. _"I'm sorry, Zero - I guess I was running _trop vite." _Noelle held out a hand. "_Enchantee. Je m'appelle Noelle. _You must call yourself Zero?"

* * *

Noelle was far less anorexic and child looking than the young girls Zero saw daily. Her curvy but still slender frame was a relief to see - maybe women can look more mature than 17 after all. But one thing made Zero thrilled in silence - a mouth that didn't automatically blabber. _Wow_. It was refreshing that Noelle didn't appear to be an air-headed, overtly chatty and overall stupid young girl who whined lack of food or everything else. Noelle seems perfectly calm to absorb Zero's presence after just a few succinct phrases.

Her hair looked messy, although a rich chocolate colour that had a stronger golden undertone to it that Yuuki's. Her eyes where in that grey-blue-green genre and Zero really couldn't say which colour dominated. Her eyes commanded attention, as they were complemented by thick lashes and dark eyebrows, but so did her lips - salmon-red, a sharp cupid's bow, and radiant as they were pulled into a smile. Her skin was tanned golden and smooth, with an obvious flush from her exercise. She was probably a sliver over the average female height (Zero's guess was 5'6") but was a lot curvier than the Asian girls here. He couldn't compliment her honestly using the adjective "cute," but perhaps "striking."

Zero took her hand and shook it gently.

* * *

Zero was tall, lanky, stern-faced and handsome in a bizarre way. In Europe, Noelle had never seen real silver hair and lavender eyes before. It was kind of eerie, actually - Zero looked a bit alien. He had a lazy slouch and a dip of the head no matter which direction he looked at, allowing the magically moonlight-coloured to shuffle in front of his eyes. _Mon Dieu_, _ses yeux_… Noelle's heart quickened as if on command at the sight of such lavender, opaque irises. They were framed with thick eyelashes and a pair of furrowing eyebrows.

It took five seconds before Noelle registered Zero's question: "What are you staring at?"

Blinking herself out of the trace, Noelle straightened up. "Ouh, _je suis étonnée _to… _tomber sur_… people _avec_ _cheveux d'argent_." Categorizing the handsome Zero in the general category of "people" just based on his appearance seemed very inappropriate.

Noelle couldn't tell if he looked embarrassed or angry at her comment. Or confused_. Damn, what's that word in English? _"Sorry, _je n'ai pas dit comme ca_ - I'm still trying to _s'adapter _to a different _environnement_, different people, suddenly using _l'anglais_… sorry if I'm _trop _blunt _les jours prochains_.."

Zero raised an eyebrow - he didn't really understand half of what Noelle said. She must have had a hell of an experience meeting a squealing, blabbering, English-spilling Yuuki this afternoon.

He pointed to the main building, then pointed to his watch. "Dinner time. Come." Finally! A word Noelle understood!

Noelle tugged Zero's sleeve before breaking into jog again. "I run," she huffed. "_pour un douche _before the dinner. See you!" Zero blinked a few times too many.

_Did she just call me a douche? _


	3. Chasing Cars

"This girl is crazy," Zero muttered.

The two had once again fallen asleep in the living room after Noelle dragged him there to watch Sherlock Holmes. The main character spoke some funny type of English that made everything sound incredibly dramatic - but other than the weird accent, Zero thought the detective mysteries pretty intriguing. He solved one of the stories in his head before the result showed in the story, but that was one out of six episodes they had watched.

* * *

Once again, Noelle was sleep talking… and sleep walking.

"GAH!" She yelped in her sleep. "_Suivez-ils! Depechez-vous, mesieurs_!" Noelle's eyes were tight in concentration as she fumbled around with the comforter Zero had drape over her lanky frame. "FASTER, IDIOTS!"

A few minutes of silence. Zero sighed. Maybe she passed the REM sleep cycle by now…

"I SAID THE GREEN CAR, STUPID!"

Zero smirked, his eyes still closed but understanding they were losing to sleep. Sounded as if Noelle was addressing Zero in her sleep. She was never stingy with name-calling when it came to Zero.

Suddenly, she leapt up and shuffled zombie-style to the kitchen. Zero stood up and cautiously followed her. The last time Zero caught Noelle sleepwalking, she was holder a plunger and trying to break out her balcony door, all while mumbling some Dr. Seuss poems and missing her left sock. Zero failed to stifle a laugh in the first time in his life that evening.

Noelle relocated to the neighbouring sofa over a 3-minute, drunken shuffle while mumbling some more French phrases and tumbled slowly into the seats. When Zero noticed moments later that Noelle's muscles relaxed, he relocated the comforter to follow Noelle and then crept back to his sofa to settle in. Well, that wasn't as bad as last time.

.

.

.

.

.

_Zero._

_._

_._

_._

Hm. This must be a dream. _Whaddya want, _Zero muttered.

.

.

.

_…Zero…_

_._

_._

All Zero saw was blackness but his other senses were very much functional. He smelled the fruit basket from the kitchen, he felt the folds in the comforter, he heard his own breathing. Now if only had the energy to open his eyes.

"Zero, _je te dis… tu est tres joli._" Zero's eyes opened. Great. French girl was muttering again. He stretched his body to get a better view of Noelle's expression. The soft moonlight traced a face peaceful but tired and sad.

"Zero, _je t'aime, j'aime tes yeux… mais tu as les yeux pour Yuuki seulement, n'est-ce pas? Tu l'aime comme femme?_" What was she thinking now, that Yuuki was Watson or something? And that the three of them were on the scene of a murder? Zero made a mental note not to ever watch sensory overloaded films right before sleeping. They really infest themselves in Noelle's stupid dreams and nightmares...

.

.

.

"_Je suis ton amie, toujours, tu sais_?" Maybe that meant something along the lines of dusting for fingerprints or DNA matching at the crime scene. Zero really ought to invest in one of those smartphones that could translate audio clips and real conversations.

After a final sigh, Noelle drifted into silent sleep again. Zero peeked at Noelle one last time before entering a undisturbed slumber himself. His last memory before the next day was the young brunette's strained expression but hopeful smile, her hands clenching the pillow and her figure outlined by the moonlight.

She really was quite beautiful when she wanted to be.


End file.
